"Daphne, were you also in the library this morning?"
Leo's sudden question caught Daphne completely off guard, making her recall that embarrassing experience of being kicked out by Madam Pince.
She absolutely couldn't admit it. Wouldn't that let Leo know the embarrassing person had been her?
"Ahem, no, absolutely not."
"I wasn't feeling well this morning, so after getting medicine from the hospital wing, I went back to the Slytherin common room."
Daphne deliberately coughed lightly into her fist, trying to show she was still unwell.
Actually, she wasn't lying completely—Daphne really had been sick that morning and really did visit the hospital wing. But Madam Pomfrey's medical skills were too excellent, curing her almost completely in just a few minutes.
Since her roommate had already requested sick leave for her, there was no need to rush to class, right? So with nothing to do, she'd wandered to the library and happened to encounter Leo by chance.
When students finally got sick leave, if they didn't take the opportunity to slack off a bit, how could they justify it?
But Leo looked at Daphne suspiciously. It wasn't about believing her—mainly, the girl's face was so red, it couldn't be a relapse, right? Besides, hadn't she been quite energetic in Transfiguration class just now?
Tap Tap Tap.
Malfoy finally caught up on his crutches.
"Grafton, I—"
He'd originally wanted to chat with Leo, but seeing the Greengrass family's young lady was there too, he closed his mouth.
When she clearly saw who'd arrived, Daphne's eyes lit up. A witness had delivered himself to her door.
"Malfoy, tell him—didn't I take sick leave and miss flying class this morning?"
"Ah, oh right, your roommate helped you ask for leave."
Malfoy scratched his head under the bandages, not understanding why Daphne was suddenly asking this.
"Malfoy, when I went back to the Slytherin common room later, I happened to run into you. You remember, right?"
This question confused him even more. He really wanted to say, 'Big sister, I was excitedly heading to flying class this morning—how would I have noticed you?'
"I don't—"
Just as Malfoy said "don't", Daphne subtly glared at him, her eyes clearly saying, "Hurry up and nod!"
For some reason, Malfoy suddenly remembered his father's teaching: don't oppose people stronger than yourself.
Unlike some families that needed to grovel to survive, the Greengrass family was powerful, grasping both influence and wealth. The Ministry's Department of Magical Transportation had always been managed by the Greengrasses, for example.
Passive talent: Reading the wind and steering the sail, activated!
Malfoy nodded quickly. "Yes, I saw you when I was leaving. I hope you recover soon, Daphne."
Leo felt the scene before him was extremely strange.
A person with bandaged head and plastered leg was wishing a "rosy-faced" person a speedy recovery?
Slytherins really were something else. These pure-blood nobles were genuinely odd.
If he spent too much time with them, wouldn't he become strange too?
"It's been fun chatting, but Professor McGonagall has something to discuss with me, so I'll head off first."
Inside Professor McGonagall's office, after she'd brought Leo in, he observed the space briefly.
One wall's bookshelf was packed with volumes—mostly related to Transfiguration, both advanced magic texts and academic research papers.
The opposite wall's shelves displayed numerous small items: fine metal crafts, complex mechanical instruments, minerals of various colours...
Leo estimated these were probably auxiliary items for practising Transfiguration, expanding applications by analysing material properties.
It'd only been a few days since school started, and he'd already visited so many professors' offices. Check-in enthusiasts would be thrilled.
"How're you finding it, Leonardo? Are you settling in well at Hogwarts?"
Professor McGonagall was no longer as stern as in class, but asked quite gently.
Leo responded with genuine warmth: "Thank you for your concern. I think Hogwarts is wonderful—there's magic here, and lots of knowledge I've never encountered before."
"My classmates are very friendly, the professors are incredibly learnt, and I feel like I can discover new things every day."
Hearing Leo's obvious joy, Professor McGonagall nodded with satisfaction.
"That's excellent. I was originally worried you might not adapt well to suddenly entering an unfamiliar magical world."
"Are there any problems with Transfiguration recently?"
Leo thought about it. There were so many! But for his most immediate goal, he should first prepare for the transformation pocket watch loan and learn semi-permanent solidified transformation.
Well, there were no more classes today, so he'd find somewhere to test that watch's effects. He'd visit Hagrid's place and check on his cabbages while he was at it.
"Professor, I'm very interested in semi-permanent solidified transformation, but I don't know where to start learning."
Professor McGonagall gestured with her hand. Several books and a research paper flew down from the bookshelf.
Leo quickly scanned the materials before him—all involved solidified transformation theory.
But the author names on that paper were quite interesting:
Albus Dumbledore & Nicolas Flamel
This surprised Leo somewhat. It was actually a paper co-authored by Dumbledore and the creator of the Philosopher's Stone.
This paper wouldn't just involve Transfiguration, but also Alchemy.
Leo figured this must be a byproduct of researching the Philosopher's Stone.
"Professor, Nicolas Flamel should be that legendary alchemist who created the Philosopher's Stone, right? So this paper...?"
"That's right, he's that legend. This paper focuses on solidified transformation in Transfiguration, using alchemical knowledge and techniques to achieve perfection."
Hearing Professor McGonagall's explanation, Leo felt genuinely excited. He'd been worrying about lacking alchemy reference materials.
At Hogwarts, Alchemy was a course only senior students could take as an elective. There were also very few books about it in the library. Leo suspected some might be hidden in the Restricted Section, but not being able to access them made him itch with curiosity.
"Perfect, Professor. I'll study them carefully."
They chatted for a while longer. When Leo was about to get up and leave, Professor McGonagall suddenly said with a playful smile:
"Leonardo, studying hard is certainly admirable."
"But you can also occasionally relax with classmates—like taking walks by the Black Lake?"
Leo felt somewhat embarrassed. So Professor McGonagall had overheard after all.
Actually, he would go out and explore, take walks and such—it was just that he walked in the Forbidden Forest.
"Leonardo, you'll be at Hogwarts for seven years. You won't just study here, but also grow here."
"I hope every young wizard can gain both knowledge and happiness at this school."